=3;8>23 =30 188/ 607< * =30 9864=4.< 81 0?0;@/,@ 6410 47 >;-,7 ->;547, 1,<8 6IXA /EBETEC , =HEQIQ <SBLIRRED FNP RHE /EGPEE NF 9H/ AR RHE >MITEPQIRW NF <R ,MDPEUQ &$$( 1SKK LERADARA FNP RHIQ IREL IQ ATAIKABKE IM ;EQEAPCH+<R,MDPEUQ*1SKK=EVR AR* HRRO*##PEQEAPCH!PEONQIRNPW"QR!AMDPEUQ"AC"SJ# 9KEAQE SQE RHIQ IDEMRIFIEP RN CIRE NP KIMJ RN RHIQ IREL* HRRO*##HDK"HAMDKE"MER#%$$&'#)%%) =HIQ IREL IQ OPNRECRED BW NPIGIMAK CNOWPIGHR THROUGH THE FOOD LENS: THE POLITICS OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN URBAN BURKINA FASO Submitted by: Liza Debevec For the degree of: Ph.D. (Social Anthropology) Date: 9th November 2004 A UNIý ' :?ý1DREANý . I was admitted as a research student in September 1999 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in September 2000; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 1999 and 2004. ? Q..03.05 date signature of candidate ... rý4 I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date ............... signature of supervisor .... RESTRICTED In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I wish access to it to be subject to the following conditions: for a period of 3 years from the date of submission, the thesis shall be made available for use only with the consent of the Head of the School in which the work was carried out. I understand, however, that the title and abstract of the thesis will be published during this period of restricted access; and that after the expiry of this period the thesis will be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright in the work not being affected thereby, and a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker. date 03.05 ............ signature of candidate ... ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Through the food lens: the politics of everyday life in urban Burkina Faso The subject of the thesis is the everyday life of several Muslim and one Christian family residing in different parts of Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest town in Burkina Faso, situated in the south west, on the axis between Mali and Ivory Coast. Through ethnographic descriptions of food events I explore larger issues of everyday existence in urban West Africa. The joint use of `traditional' and `western' foods shows that the average Burkinabe shifts between several worlds in which s/he feels more or less comfortable. One is the home, where eating and other practices are traditional and safe, the other the outside world, where one is always at risk of the unknown. At the same time the outside world is a space invested with expectations, excitement and possibility of success. I explore the ways in which people negotiate between the `traditional' world, which they know and understand, and the `modern' ways of life, to which, while with hesitation and apprehension, they aspire. In order to understand people's everyday actions, I analyse their everyday lives, starting from the home life and everyday feeding practices, through celebrations and rituals, and their relationship with and ideas about the outside world through the media. Finally, I explore people's ideas about the future they aspire to, both for themselves and for their families. Acknowledgements This thesis was written with the support of an ORS grant, a UHStAGA Scholarship and a maintenance grant from University of St Andrews. I also received financial support from Zavarovalnica Triglav, Slovenia. I am grateful to all the above- mentioned institutions. Most of all I am grateful to the individuals who supported me on my way towards completion. In the field, I would like to thank my host family and all my friends and informants, who by allowing me to become a part of their lives, made this thesis possible. I will not name them here as I wish to respect their privacy. In St Andrews I want to thank many people, particularly all the fellow PhD students who helped with useful comments during the 'writing-up' seminars and also afterwards in the pub. I also want to thank the members of staff, who ran or attended these seminars, for their support and comments. Anne Christie, Lisa Smith and Donna Lumsden were incredibly helpful in making the background run smoothly, so I could write away without major hiccups. Particular thanks goes to my supervisor, Professor Nigel Rapport, who has not only been a great mentor, but has also been incredibly patient with me through these years. I also want to thank Sue Lewis, who has been an amazing friend and colleague since my first days in St Andrews. Finally I want to thank my friends and family in Ljubljana for supporting me and also for constantly asking the annoying question 'Aren't you done yet? ' which possibly helped me to finally finish the thesis. A special thank you goes to Melita Pisek, who made sure that the thesis found its way home. I want to dedicate this thesis to my mother and brother, who were always there for me. Rada vaju imam, tudi kadar sem tecna. Table of Contents Glossary of Jula and French words in the thesis 1 Dramatis personae or a glossary of the main informants 6 Chapter One - Introduction 8 1.1 Fieldwork (and life) as a constant compromise or from half empty to half full and back again 8 1.2 Theoretical frames: Being-in-the-field or discovering an anthropology that fits like a second skin 13 1.2.1 The everyday practice of cooking 18 1.2.2 The ideal and the not-so-ideal (real) world 20 1.2.3 The not-so-traditional Africa: on modernity and postcolony in Africa 23 1.2.4. The technicalities of ethnographic practice or how (not) to do fieldwork in Burkina Faso and elsewhere 26 1.2.4.1 The ethics of anthropological research and consequences of writing about informants' lives 29 1.3 Introducing the place 32 1.3.1 Introducing the country: Burkina Faso - demography, geography, linguistics, history and anthropology 32 1.3.2 The town 37 1.3.2.1 Bobo-Dioulasso in anthropological literature 38 1.3.2 The neighbourhood 40 1.4 Introducing the people 41 1.4.1 The Bationo family compound or my life in a former chicken coop 41 The Bationo: My compound 43 1.4.2 The not-so-innocent anthropologist or how the dunanmuso defied the rules of proper behaviour by making contact with the world outside the compound 56 The Sanou family 59 Les Wattara 63 And some other important people 65 1.5 The plan of the thesis 67 family kitchen Chapter Two - Smells from the or who gets the biggest chunk of meat 70 One cannot eat on one's own 70 How compatible are the ideas of the commensality with ideas of hierarchy 71 Ideal and real families 73 A day in the life of the Bationo family (and their tubabu muso) 75 Discussion of breakfast and early morning practices 78 Discussion about acquisition, preparation and distribution of the main daily meal 85 Family hierarchy and inequality in food distribution and general treatment 88 Learning to share 91 Mama's side of the yard 93 Discussion and concluding remarks 94 98 Chapter Three - Bobolese weddings and feasting as a `symbolic struggle' Anthropologists and weddings 99 `Faire le marriage Africain' 100 Common marriage procedures 104 The pattern of traditional wedding celebrations in Bobo-Dioulasso 107 Safi's wedding 110 Civil wedding of the first cousins, les Sidibe and les Diop 118 Discussion 128 Chapter Four- Watching TV in a West African compound 132 Tv as a source of entertainment and as an object of prestige 134 Television Nationale du Burkina 135 Burkinabe families watch television or how watching TV became a new form of commensality 138 Gossip, criticising and networking or how TV reflects the everyday life 144 Locally produced images: decolonisation of the small screen or an unwelcome image of reality 151 Discussion and concluding remarks 156 Chapter Five - Dangers and charms of the unknown: to eat or not to eat outside one's home 158 Street foods 159 The ups and downs of a very small business: the case of Assetou and Madina's food stall 164 Restaurants, cafes, teahouses and bars 167 Anthropologist eats outside (and gets told off) 168 Perils of eating outside or places where one should not be (seen) 170 Hierarchy of cleanliness and dirt 177 Eating out with my friends and informants 179 Discussion 182 Chapter Six - Waiting for happiness - the vision of future of people in Bobo-Dioulasso 185 Islam in Bobo-Dioulasso 187 How to recognise a true believer, or the mysterious way of being-in-the-field 188 The private hopes and public practices of Burkinabe individuals 191 Fati (Koroba) Bationo 191 Amadou Bationo 197 Bintou Wattara 201 Negotiating one' place between the traditional expectations and the constraints of the everyday realities 206 Waiting for ajigi 207 Concluding remarks 208 Chapter Seven - Conclusion 210 The ideals and the reality of a thesis conclusion 210 Why should we look through the food lens? 212 Between real and ideal, traditional and modern; or the illusion of wholeness 213 Why does this matter and where do we go from here? 216 Bibliography 220 Table of Figures Picture 1.